Sylvester
Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr.
First appearance	Life With Feathers ( March 24th 1945)
Created by	Friz Freleng
Voiced by	Mel Blanc Bill Farmer (Space Jam) Joe Alaskey (current),

Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr. is a fictional character, a three-time Academy Award-winning anthropomorphic cat who appears in more than 90 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons made from 1945 to 1965, often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. The name "Sylvester" is a play on silvestris, the scientific name for the domestic cat species. The character debuted in Friz Freleng's Life With Feathers (1945). Freleng's 1947 cartoon Tweetie Pie was the first pairing of Tweety with Sylvester, and the Chuck Jones-directed Scaredy Cat (1948) was Sylvester's first pairing with Porky Pig. Image File history File links Sylvester_J_Pussycat. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Life With Feathers is a 1945 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng and produced and released by Warner Bros. ... An animator is one who is involved in the process of animation. ... Isadore Friz Freleng (August 21, 1906[1]–May 26, 1995) was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Melvin Jerome Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was a prolific American voice actor. ... Bill Farmer (born 1949) is an American voice actor and comedian. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Joe Alaskey (born May 26, 1949 in Watervliet, New York) is credited as one of the successors (including Billy West) of the great Mel Blanc in impersonating the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other characters from Warner Bros. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification or prosopopeia, is the attribution of human characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, forces of nature, and others. ... Binomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis lybica invalid junior synonym The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... Looney Tunes opening title Looney Tunes is a Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. ... Merrie Melodies end title Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. ... For the band, see Cartoons (band). ... Toy made in Tweetys image Tweety aka Tweety Pie or Tweety Bird is a fictional character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. ... For the Speedy Gonzales song, see Pat Boone. ... Hippety Hopper is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ... For articles on topics with similar names, see Wildcat. ... Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus Schreber, 1775 For alternative meanings see cat (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... Isadore Friz Freleng (August 21, 1906[1]–May 26, 1995) was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. ... Life With Feathers is a 1945 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Friz Freleng and produced and released by Warner Bros. ... First pairing of Tweety and Sylvester. ... Chuck Jones in 1976 Charles Martin Chuck Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. ... Scaredy Cat is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and produced and released by Warner Bros. ... Porky Pig is an Academy Award-nominated animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ...

Sylvester's trademark was his sloppy, stridulating lisp. In his autobiography, That's Not All Folks!, voice actor Mel Blanc stated that Sylvester's voice is based on that of Daffy Duck, plus the even-more-slobbery lisp, and minus the post-production speed-up that is done with Daffy's. Conventional wisdom is that Daffy's lisp, and hence also Sylvester's, were based on producer Leon Schlesinger's. However, Blanc made no such claim. He said that Daffy's lisp was based on him having a long beak, and that he borrowed the voice for Sylvester. He also pointed out that, minus the lisp, Sylvester's voice was fairly close to his own. A lisp is a speech impediment. ... Melvin Jerome Blanc (May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was a prolific American voice actor. ... Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. ... Leon Schlesinger (1884 - December 25, 1949) was a producer at the Warner Bros. ...

To emphasize the lisp, as with Daffy's catchphrase "You're desthpicable", Sylvester's trademark exclamation is "Sufferin’ succotash!", which is said to be a minced oath/euphemism of "Suffering Savior". Succotash (from the Native American Narraganset language, msikwatash) is a food dish consisting primarily of lima beans and corn (maize), possibly including pieces of cured meat. ... A minced oath, also known as a pseudo-profanity, is an expression based on a profanity which has been altered to reduce or remove the disagreeable or objectionable characteristics of the original expression; for example, gosh used instead of God, darn instead of damn,heck instead of hell and freaking... Euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener; or in the case of doublespeak, to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Sylvester is a tuxedo cat who shows much pride in himself, and never gives up. Despite (or perhaps because of) his pride and persistence, Sylvester was, with rare exceptions, placed squarely on the "loser" side of the Looney Tunes winner/loser hierarchy. His character was basically that of Wile E. Coyote while he was chasing mice or birds. (One cartoon episode The Wild Chase paired Sylvester and Wile E. Coyote against the Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales. In the end both Sylvester and Wile E. fail as usual.) He shows a different character when paired with Porky Pig in explorations of spooky places, in which he doesn't speak as a scaredy cat. (In these cartoons, he basically plays the terrified Costello to Porky's oblivious Abbott.) Perhaps Sylvester's most developed role is in a series of Robert McKimson-directed shorts, in which the character is a hapless mouse-catching instructor to his dubious son, Sylvester Junior, with the "mouse" being a powerful baby kangaroo. His alternately confident and bewildered episodes bring his son to shame, while Sylvester himself is reduced to nervous breakdowns. Categories: Animal stubs | Cat types ... Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote The Road Runner cartoons are a series of Looney Tunes cartoons created by Chuck Jones for Warner Brothers. ... The Wild Chase is a Looney Tunes short in which Sylvester and Wile E. Coyote are paired against Speedy Gonzales and the Road Runner. ... Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote The Road Runner cartoons are a series of Looney Tunes cartoons created by Chuck Jones for Warner Brothers. ... “Road Runner” redirects here. ... For the Speedy Gonzales song, see Pat Boone. ... Porky Pig is an Academy Award-nominated animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ... Lou Costello, born Louis Francis Cristillo, March 6, 1906 - March 3, 1959), was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. ... William Alexander “Bud” Abbott (October 2, 1895 – April 24, 1974) was an American actor, producer and comedian born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. ... Robert Bob McKimson, Sr. ... Sylvester Junior in the short Freudy Cat. ... Hippety Hopper is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ...

According to his son Noel Blanc, out of the hundreds of characters Mel Blanc had voiced, Sylvester was the closest to his natural voice. Just without the lisp.

Sylvester also had atypical roles in a few cartoons:

• Kitty Kornered (1946), a Bob Clampett cartoon in which a black-nosed, yellow-eyed Sylvester was teamed with three other cats to oust homeowner Porky Pig.
• Back Alley Op-Roar (1948), a Friz Freleng cartoon (actually a remake of the 1941 short Notes To You) wherein Sylvester pesters the sleep-deprived Elmer Fudd by performing several amazing musical numbers in the alley (and even a sweet lullaby to temporarily ease Elmer back to the dream world... if only temporarily).
• The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1950), a Chuck Jones cartoon in which Sylvester plays the villain to Daffy Duck's hero.

In the television series Tiny Toon Adventures, Sylvester appeared as the mentor of Furrball. The character also starred in The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries. In Loonatics Unleashed Sylvester's descendent is Sylth Vester, a hitman hired by Granicus to kill Royal Tweetums so she won't have to lose her throne. Despite his best efforts he's beaten by the Loonatics. Bob Clampett directed his only Sylvester the cat cartoon, released in 1946. ... Robert Emerson Bob Clampett (May 8, 1913–May 4, 1984) was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes series of cartoons from Warner Bros. ... Porky Pig is an Academy Award-nominated animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ... Sylvester does a wild musical number in Elmers back yard. ... Isadore Friz Freleng (August 21, 1906[1]–May 26, 1995) was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. ... Elmer J. Fudd is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters. ... For other uses, see Lullaby (disambiguation). ... Dream worlds are a commonly used plot device in fictional works, most notably in science fiction and fantasy fiction. ... The Scarlet Pumpernickel is a 1948 Warner Bros. ... Chuck Jones in 1976 Charles Martin Chuck Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. ... Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures (also known as Tiny Toon Adventures or Tiny Toons) is an American animated television series created and produced as a collaborative effort between Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. ... Furrball as a Ghostbuster Furrball is a fictional alley cat in Tiny Toon Adventures. ... The Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries is an animated television series which aired between 1995 and 2000 on Kids WB, and was later re-run on Cartoon Network. ... Loonatics Unleashed is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. ...

In 1985, Sylvester could be heard in an episode of the game show Press Your Luck. Host Peter Tomarken had earlier incorrectly credited his catchphrase "Suffering Succotash!" to Daffy Duck. Even though all three contestants had correctly answered "Sylvester," they were ruled incorrect. In a segment produced later and edited into the broadcast, Sylvester phoned Tomarken and told him, "Daffy Duck steals from me all the time." All three participants returned to compete in future episodes. Press Your Luck is an American television daytime game show originally broadcast on CBS from 1983 to 1986 where contestants collected spins by answering trivia questions, and then used the spins on an 18-space gameboard full of cash and prizes. ... Peter David Tomarken (December 7, 1942 – March 13, 2006) was an American television personality known primarily as host of Press Your Luck. ...

Western Publications produced a comic book about Tweety and Sylvester entitled Tweety and Sylvester first in Dell Comics Four Color series #406, 489, and 524, then in their own title from Dell Comics (#4-37, 1954-62), then later from Gold Key Comics (#1-102, 1963-72). Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publications, which got its start in pulp magazines. ... One of the earlier issues of Four Color, featuring Walt Disneys Donald Duck. ... Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publications, which got its start in pulp magazines. ... Gold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing cteated for comic books distributed to newstands. ...

Other Media

In the movie Kitten with a whip, there was a scene where a Sylvester cartoon "Canned Feud" was played on the television.

Sylvester appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Werewolf VS Unicorn" voiced by Frank Welker. During Arnold Schwarzenegger announcement of illegal aliens from Mexico, Sylvester demonstrates a wired fence that will keep the aliens out only for it to be penetrated by Speedy Gonzales. Robot Chicken is an Emmy Award-Winning American stop motion animated television series produced by Stoopid Monkey, ShadowMachine Films, Williams Street, and Sony Pictures Digital, currently airing in the US as a part of Cartoon Networks Adult Swim line-up, in Britain as part of Bravos Adult Swim... Franklin W. Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American voice actor. ... Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): ) (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the U.S. state of California. ...

Sylevester makes a cameo appearance in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where he provides the punchline for a double-entendre joke regarding Judge Doom's identity. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 film produced by Amblin Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company (released on its Touchstone Pictures banner), which blends traditional animation and live action. ...

Sylvester appears as part of the TuneSquad team in Space Jam. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

He also has a cameo appearance in Looney Tunes: Back in Action, but this "Sylvester" is really Mr. Chairman in disguise Looney Tunes: Back in Action was a 2003 Warner Bros. ...

Trivia

• "Sylvester" cat is on the badge of the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron{Reference only}
• "Sylvester" cat is on the badge of Marine Attack Squadron 311.
• Sylvester appears in the most Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts after Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
• Even though he was Sylvester in later cartoon shorts, he was named "Thomas" in his first appearance with Tweety Bird in "Tweetie Pie". He was most likely called Thomas as a reference to Tom & Jerry, where Tom's unseen (from the head-up) owner Mammy Two-Shoes would always call him Thomas as well; thus, the name had to be changed. Like Mammy Two-Shoes, the woman who owned Thomas could not be seen from the head-up.
• In France, Sylvester is more known as "Grominet" as Tweety calls him, which roughly means "big kitty".
• Sylvester's name stems from the Latin scientific classification for domestic house cats: Felis Silvestris.
• Sylvester also appears in Baby Looney Tunes, a cartoon in which all the Looney Tunes characters are shown as babies
• When Olympia & York went into receivership (bankruptcy), their Canary Wharf project in the UK was taken over by the lending banks which then created "Sylvester Holdings" to "own" the project, as Sylvester tried to grab Tweety.

Marine Attack Squadron 311 (VMA-311) is a United States Marine Corps fighter squadron consisting of AV-8B Harrier (V/STOL) jets. ... Bugs Bunny is an Academy Award-winning animated rabbit who appears in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated films produced by Warner Bros. ... Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. ... For other meanings of words and phrases starting with tweet, see tweet. ... First pairing of Tweety and Sylvester. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mammy Two-Shoes is a recurring character in MGMs Tom and Jerry cartoons. ... Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus Schreber, 1775 For alternative meanings see cat (disambiguation). ... Baby Looney Tunes is an American animated television series that shows Looney Tunes characters as toddlers. ... Olympia and York was a major property firm. ... Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

External links

• Sylvester's history at Warner Bros' official website (requires flash).
• Sylvester the Cat Fanclub
• Pictures and wallpapers of Sylvester on the Cartoon Spot web site.
• Amazing pink color car - Sylvester car
• Free On-line Sylvester The Cat Cartoon - this and other Looney Tunes cartoons are free on this site.